Still rainin'....

[fiberaddict]

it paused during the Cowboy's game yesterday, and stayed clear for about 1.5 hours afterwards. Just long enough for Sweet Geek to dig the last 3 holes for the barn. Then it hit again. It's weird - I was watching the weather channel yesterday, and it LOOKS like hurricane-rain...only, we've had NO hurricane. :shrug: Just reporting...

4 repeats to go on the sock! :huzzah:

Now..a question that I honestly want an answer to - if there are any Jews in the audience, please feel free to educate me. I understand the commandment: Honor the Sabbath and keep it Holy. I also understand the whole "do no work" part....but.....

OK. Some orthodox Jews do NOT flip a light switch on the Sabbath, because it's "work". I...can't think like that, but OK. I get that. However, what do you do with your animals on the Sabbath? I mean, if turning a light switch on is "work", so is feeding your dog, right?

Well....you can't NOT feed a horse for 24 hours, or you're setting yourself up for a nice case of colic. (You also can NOT "free feed" them - same thing, or laminitus (spelling...it sucketh)/founder can/probably will occur). You can't NOT milk your dairy animal - not only will you be losing production, you will also cause harm to the udder (and possibly - in a worse-case scenario - Death of the animal). Chickens don't stop laying eggs and eating/drinking on the Sabbath - do you just refuse to top off the feeders and waterers or collect eggs (you'll lose some - the hens'll peck the eggs, learn they taste good, and you have a major problem on your hands)? You can't NOT drop hay/feed to cows/goats - their rumens HAVE to be kept busy, or they could die.

I mean...I'm trying to understand this. I don't get the whole "I can't watch TV on the Sabbath because turning on the TV is "work" or (and this is what brought this up) "I can't turn on a crockpot at the start of the Sabbath because that is "work", so I need receipes for long-time cooking". :scratches head: By this thinking, you can't take a bath on the Sabbath, because turing on the water would be "work", you can't pour yourself water from the 'fridge/sink, because, again, turning the handle would be "work" (I'm not be snarky here - it just stands to reason to me that if flipping a light switch is "work", then so is turning on a water faucet (which..by the way - how would you put out a fire, should one threaten your property? That would be work....))

I get that you don't want to use your horse/donkey/ox for plowing on the Sabbath - that's definatly work. What about riding? My horses are "lawn ornaments"/"grass maggots"/loafers that don't do ANYTHING except grace me with their presence most of the time. Would a slow, leisurely trail ride be considered "work"?

Again, not trying to be snarky, I'm just wanting to understand. Any info would be appreciated!

Comments

[oakenking.livejournal.com]

I don't know a lot of the rules... but I lived with a Jewish family for five years, and picked up a bunch of little things. One of my friends told me that the light switch issue was actually related to a prohibition against kindling a fire - the same reason that the slow-baking things could be simmered for hours, but the fire had to be lit before sundown on Friday. She said that flipping a light switch often makes a small spark when the contact connects, and that was considered "kindling a fire."

Don't know what to tell you about the animal issues - we didn't have anything but cats and dogs, and they got fed.

Shabbat restrictions

[(Anonymous)]

Judaism isn't much of a "this way or no way" religion. Life and death is a valid out for anything, so if your house is burning, you can put it out. This is what the Mishnah is all about. Someone comes along with a new situation and wants to know the rules, so the rabbis and the ravs all debate, based on past precedent and extrapolation, and come up with an answer. Someone asked if lobster was kosher, and after due consideration it was pronounced to be trayf as it had a split or cloven "hoof". When phones were invented, the had to decide on the rules for that. But basically, beyond the basic rules (10 cmdmts) ( and we have different ones than christians) its common sense. Also, we don't stone people for breaking the rules anymore ;-).

[enjayk.livejournal.com]

Yes, you do feed and milk animals, it falls under not causing animals pain, but I believe that you're supposed to do any special preparations, such as making a mash, ahead of time. You do not collect eggs, since not collecting them isn't painful. I'm aware of a Jewish goatherd who allows the animals to consume the milk themselves so as to not derive any benefit or pleasure from it. Riding your horses on Sabbath would be wrong. Not because it would be work for you, but because it is work for the horses and animals have the right to rest on the Sabbath. I heard a Rabbi talking about not asking a dog to fetch slippers on the Sabbath, so I guess even asking a dog to perform tricks would be considered work and thus not allowed.

[enjayk.livejournal.com]

Giraffes do have cloven hooves, they do chew a cud, and their milk curdles, as was discovered by extracting milk during an exam on a lactating mother. Apparently the milk curdling is also an important bit and was the deciding factor? I googled it and found an article, but don't have it handy, sorry.